Voting machine



June 1965 J. M. DETERING ETAL 3,186,638

VOTING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS .umzs M. osrsnouva ammo a. JOHNSON STANLEY I: MOLNR BY aoatnr G "arr/Na A T'I'ORNEYS June 1965 J. M. DETERING ETAL 3,136,538

VOTING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TALLYING COMPUTER INVENTORS A MES M. DETERD/NG Leon/4R0 L. JOHNSON BY 5m NLEY A Mouvsn Nl/TTIA/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,186,638 VGTING MACHINE James M. Deter-ing, Northbrook, IlL, Leonard L. Johnson, Fort Wayne, Ind, Stanley F. Molner, Boston, Mass, and Robert G. Nutting, Glenview, 111., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Automatic Voting Machine Corporation, Jamestown, N.Y., a corporation of Deiaware Filed Apr. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 190,401 3 Claims. (Cl. 235-51) This invention relates to a voting machine and system primarily directed to a system which is characterized by a high degree of accuracy and reliability and which at the same time is sufficiently rapid in use as well as in reading out, so as to provide an improved system for the intended purposes.

In general, the present invention contemplates the use of a voting unit which during voting is placed in a voting booth and which is utilized in conjunction with an ordinary or conventional paper ballot. A voting indication is made on the ballot by a special stamp which is furnished with the unit. As far as the voter is concerned, the paper ballot is marked in a conventional manner, but at the same time a duplicate record of the individual balloting is stored on a strip disposed within the unit. Provision is made for the marking of spoiled ballots in the unit; and in operating the unit only very simple manipulations are required of the voter. Thus, at the voting precinct, manipulation of the device is simple and straightforward. The unit, at the end of the voting period, is transferred to a counting station where the duplicate voting records are sensed and counted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly broken away, showing one of the voting units;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary illustration of a voting stamp being used in connection with voting unit; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the equipment for tallying the recorded votes.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1, reference numeral indicates the voting unit in general which will be seen to include a housing having opposite side portions 11 and 12 journalinga pair of shafts 13 and 14 therein, and which housing has a top 15 provided with a pair of clamping plates 16 and 17 hingedly secured to the top. The top 15 may in its entirety or for only a portion thereof between the clamping plates 16 and 17 be constructed of nonmetallic material such as plastic or the like. The reason for this is to avoid interference with the magnetic recording. This portion of the top which is in effect a platen, is indicated by the reference numeral 18 in FIG. 2. The clamping plate 16 is provided with a plurality of pins which register with and project through suitable openings in the ballot 19 when the same is placed upon the platen 18, so as to insure proper positioning of each paper ballot. On one side of the machine is a handle 2% normally disposed in the position shown in full lines in FIG. 1 but movable to the dotted line position shown therein. This handle is preferably mechanically connected to the clamping plates 16 and 17 so as to move them into ballot clamping position when the handle is in the dotted line position shown in FIG. 1; and the machine is then ready for voting. The handle is also mechanically connected to the tether 20a of a marking device 21 which is preferably in the form of a rubber stamp adapted to imprint an X on the paper ballot.

The aforementioned shafts 13 and 14 rotatably carry a supply reel 22 and a take-up reel 23, respectivel upon Which is Wound a supply of magnetic recording tape 24 of sheet form. The handle 20 is also geared to the supply reel and to the take-up reel to advance the tape 24 intermediately of each voter entrance. When the ballot 19 is less than the full width of the platen 18, as shown in FIG.

l, a blanking plate 25 may be installed to avoid accidental markings of the magnetic tape in the portions thereof outside the area of the ballot 13.

As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the marking de vice 21 is provided with a handle 26 provided at one end with a rubber stamp 27 and having a permanent magnet as indicated at 28 inset therein and disposed closely adjacent the rubber stamp 27. When the ballot 19 is pressed against by the rubber stamp 27, the magnetic flux of the magnet 28 will magnetize the corresponding area on the magnetically sensitized ballot tape 24.

On one end 30 of the housing, there is provided an identifying strip 31 having indicia 32 thereon for identification purposes at the tallying station. The read-out and tallying equipment as shown in FIG. 3 will be seen to include a read-out housing 33 upon which the units 10 are individually placed for read-out; which housing carries drive mechanisms 34 and 35 for coupling with the reel shafts and step-by-step rewinding the magnetic ballot tape within the unit 10 from the take-up reel back to the supply reel. A code translator head 36 is mounted on the stand 33 in registry with the identification strip 31 on the unit 1% and, in accordance with the indicia 32 thereon is effective to translate the coding in accordance therewith to the computer so as to identify the election district of the voting unit being read. A magnetic read-out and erase unit 37 is also mounted on the stand 33 and is connected to the computer.

Certain information is fed to the computer as read from the magnetic ballot tape 24 while precinct identification data is fed to the tallying computer through the head 36. For this reason, it may be preferred to have the indicia 32 also in the form of magnetic recordings. By this device the tallying computer will be furnished with coded data corresponding to votes cast coincident with precinct identification data causing the votes to be appropriately recognized and channeled into corresponding accumulating facilities, which finally provide the totalized vote tallies in the form either of printed records or punched tapes or the like for eventual telemetering to a central vote accumulating station. As indicated in FIG. 3, the computer outputs may be supplied on tapes 40, 42; the tape 40 giving progressively the precinct vote counts, while the tape 42 gives progressively the total votes cast in the district served by the vote read-out station.

Operation of the read-out and tallying equipment will now be explained in greater detail. After the voting unit 10 has been positioned on the read-out stand 33, the ballot clamps 1647 are opened, and a vacuum tension control system is allowed to pull the magnetic ballot tape against a set of magnetic read and erase heads located within the housing 37. The reel drive is then started and the magnetic ballot tape 24 is thereby pulled across the readout heads at a controlled speed. By erasing the magnetic record immediately upon the tallying of the selections, the secrecy of the ballot is maintained, and the voting unit is immediately ready for reuse. The system also provides automatically for the large number of ballot forms required for the several districts, and rotation of candidates names. This is accomplished by fastening a precinct identifying strip 36 to the voting unit 10 which reads the indicia 32 on the voting unit. If in the process of voting, the voter spoils his "ballot, he may obtain a fresh paper ballot by pressing a spoiled ballot switch located under a pin 43 extending from the plate 16 (FIG. 1) which will magnetically indicate on the tape 24 a void ballot.

What is claimed is:

1. A vote selection device including a frame mounting thereon a paper ballot, a pressure-operative ballot marker having a printing portion adapted to be used to mark said paper ballot to identify a voters selections thereon, a mag- "FL, ,0 a lacoo netic record tape carried by said frame and disposed beneath said paper ballot, said ballot marker also having a ,said paper ballot to identify a voters selections thereon,

said marker device also including means generating a magnetic field whereby Whenever said marker is impressed on said ballot at different positions on said ballot to receive vote indicating impressions said tape will also receive corresponding magnetic memory deposits Whereby subsequent magnetic reading of said tape will also reveal the voting selections.

3. A ballot marking assembly comprising a housing having supply and take-up reels mounted therein and a platen disposed therebetween,

a magnetic record tape Wound upon said supply reel and issuing therefrom to lie upon said platen and be received by said take-up reel,

locating means on said housing,

a paper ballot resting upon that portion of said record tape lying upon said platen, and engaged with said loeating means to establish a predetermined orientation with respect to said record tape,

a marker device having a printing portion and a magnet portion adjacent the printing portion and adapted to be impressed upon said paper ballot to mark both such ballot and the record tape.

Ret'erences (Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS LEO SMILOW, Primary Examiner. 

1. A VOTE SELECTION DEVICE INCLUDING A FRAME MOUNTING THEREON A PAPER BALLOT, A PRESSURE-OPERATIVE BALLOT MARKET HAVING A PRINTING PORTION ADAPTED TO BE USED TO MARK SAID PAPER BALLOT TO IDENTIFY A VOTER''S SELECTIONS THEREON, A MAGNETIC RECORD TAPE CARRIED BY SAID FRAME AND DISPOSED BENEATH SAID PAPER BALLOT, SAID BALLOT MARKET ALSO HAVING A MAGNET PORTION DISPOSED IN PROXIMITY TO SAID PRINTING PORTION AND ADAPTED TO IMPOSE A MAGNETIC RECORD ON SAID RECORD TAPE CORRESPONDING TO THE MARK MADE ON SAID PAPER BALLOT. 